Key Lime Pie Recipe

A Key lime pie dolloped with whipped cream.

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Prep Time30

Bake Time20

Chilling Time1

Total Time1 50

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

▢ 1 and ½ cups (150g) graham cracker crumbs¹ 10 or 11 full sheet graham crackers
▢ 5 Tablespoons (72g) unsalted butter melted
▢ ¼ cup (50g) sugar granulated or firmly packed brown

KEY LIME FILLING

▢ 2-14 ounce cans (792g) sweetened condensed milk
▢ 1 and ¼ cups (300mL) Key lime juice²
▢ 6 large egg yolks
▢ 1 Tablespoon Key lime zest

Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!

Instructions

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
Use a food processor or blender to process full graham crackers³ into a fine crumb.
1 and ½ cups (150g) graham cracker crumbs¹
Turn the processor or blender off, add the butter and sugar, then pulse a few times until everything is blended well. Alternatively, you can add the graham cracker crumbs to a bowl and mix the butter and sugar in with a large spatula. Mixture will be coarse and sandy.
5 Tablespoons (72g) unsalted butter, ¼ cup (50g) sugar
Use your hands to press the mixture evenly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a pie dish (this recipe is enough for a 9" or 10" pan). Once it is evenly spread into the dish, use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to make the crust tight and compact in the dish. Crust will be thick.
Pre-bake the crust for 8-10 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside. Be sure to leave the oven on.

KEY LIME FILLING

In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, egg yolks, and zest until the mixture is smooth.
2-14 ounce cans (792g) sweetened condensed milk, 1 and ¼ cups (300mL) Key lime juice², 6 large egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon Key lime zest
Slowly pour the mixture into the warm crust. Depending on the size⁴ of your pie plate, you may not need to use all of the filling. Stop pouring when the level of filling just reaches the crust. You want the filling to be level with the crust or just below it. It will not expand during baking.
Bake the pie for 18–20 minutes or until it is slightly jiggly in the center (it should be mostly set), especially at the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once the pie is cool, allow it to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving with homemade whipped cream on top. If you want to chill it longer than a couple hours, be sure to cover it. Leftovers stay fresh covered tightly in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Pie freezes well, wrapped tightly, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

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Notes

Graham crackers: use any flavor you prefer-- I usually buy whatever is on sale or available. I also sometimes have pre-made graham cracker crumbs on hand and will use them. If you don't have graham crackers where you live, use 1 and ½ cups (150g) crushed digestive biscuits instead.
Key lime juice: I highly recommend bottled Key lime juice as you will need a TON of Key limes to get this much juice. You can typically find bottled Key lime juice in the cocktail/mocktail section of your grocery store. Feel free to use some fresh and some bottled, if you prefer (the bag of Key limes I buy at my grocery store usually has more than a dozen in it).
Crush the graham crackers: you can also crush graham crackers in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin or large spoon.
Pie plate size: I have no trouble using all of the filling when I use a tapered edge 9" pie plate, but the upright edge 9" pan you see in the photos holds a little less. No worry! Just pour the filling into an oven-safe dish and bake for 10-15 minutes. You can dip graham crackers into it and eat it like a dip!
To make ahead: this crust and filling can be covered and kept in the refrigerator up to 3 days before using.
Leftover egg whites: my white cake (layered or in sheet cake form) uses 6 egg whites! You could also get a head start on the egg whites for angel food cake.

Recipe adapted from Key lime bars, Ina Garten, and Andrew Zimmern

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.